Diablo Woodworkers is joining with Bay Area Woodturners Association in making boxes for seriously ill children. The children receive beads for their treatments and collect them in the boxes. If you want to make a box for this worthy program, contact the Diablo Woodworkers program coordinator, Dante Paulazzo, at dpaulazzo@comcast.net. Dante is collecting complete boxes at his business, 2800 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Walnut Creek. For more details, check the links below.
Since Beads of Courage members may receive thousands of beads, the boxes need to be large and have lids.
Turned Bowls/Boxes: Internal dimensions Minimum 6” Diameter, 5” Height
Flatwork boxes: Internal dimensions Minimum 4” x 6” x 4”
Lids: Should be easy for small or ill children to remove or lift. Any finials should be easy to grasp and not to delicate, so they don’t break.
Avoid elaborate designs that may easily break or be damaged
Finish: Best is oil-based or water-based polyurethane. Seal all surfaces to prevent mold from accumulating.
Where do the boxes go? Presently, John Muir is participating in the program. Kaiser and UCSF Children’s Hospital have suspended the program due to Covid, but plan to return to the program.
Donation form: Complete the Direct Hospital donation request form and bring it with you when delivering your boxes to Dante. Here is the link to the form: https://beadsofcourage.z2systems.com/np/clients/beadsofcourage/survey.jsp?surveyId=76&
Please note that you only need to fill out the “Donor Information”. We will complete the “Donation Information” when the boxes are delivered to the hospital.
About Beads of Courage: They are dedicated to helping children with serious illness record, tell and own their stories of survival. They have been working diligently to transform the treatment experience for children coping with chronic life-threatening illness through their arts-in-medicine programs. In the 16 years since their inception, the organization has established programs in over 240 children's hospitals and serves children in 14 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Here is an influential video about bead making and the Beads of Courage Program - https://youtu.be/WMCcJxO9mnY .